Teaching the young’uns

Our son, James, is exceedingly savvy with numbers. A few of his past occupations include sales at Sears and Best Buy as well as co-owner in a used car dealership.  Today his chosen field is trading options.  He has a passion for numbers and technology; this new enterprise is a prodigious fit for his skills.

James and Amanda have five children, all in school and all living at home. Looking down the road, they anticipate college and wedding costs as well as transportation.  Seven weeks ago, they decided to bestow $1000 to each child to invest in the stock market with the confidence that by the time each child graduates from high school, they can use those funds to purchase their first car.  James specified two rules.  One, only one trade at a time per child, and two, the kids pay the cost of commission on each trade.

Surprisingly, the oldest grandson, age 14, decided he would invest in Southwest LUV. I say surprisingly, because we thought for sure he would go with a more trendy choice, like Nike.  Perhaps it was the upcoming trip to Florida that contributed to his decision, but he did show me the LUV daily graph; so I know there was some merit and thought that went into it.  Coincidently, Payton said they are now studying the stock market in his economics class at school.  To date, his gains in LUV are 13.16%.  With his 15^th birthday coming up, he asked for money to put into his stock account, which reflects what we are trying to teach.  We are trying to show the kids the rewards of saving and investing.

The second oldest grandson, age 12, was not home at the time. He started his trading with Walt Disney Co DIS and has moved on to Tyson Foods Inc. TSN.  Truthfully, I think he picked this stock because he has the same name, Tyson.  Hopefully Argus Research initiating coverage on TSN and calling a buy will help this stock move up.  Today his account is -3.87%.  Go TSN! Tyson has a lot of energy!

Elle, the oldest granddaughter, age 12, did her research before we had our get together. She had her heart set on Dicks Sporting Goods and told me that DKS was coming out with their March report in the next couple of days.  I remember Jeff Macke outlining his call on DKS just that week on the IBC website. To date, her gains in DKS are 3.77%.  Elle is taking this endeavor very seriously.  Her notes and graphs looked very similar to my own.  Proud Grandma here!

McKenna, our 10 year old granddaughter, was not home at the time, but her decision fell in line with Tyson’s and she also chose DIS. To date, her gains in DIS are 3.78%. Nice choice on her part!  She is a princess in our book.

Mia, who at 7 years old, has the best chance of doubling her $1000 before graduating high school, was more interested in having me watch Disney movies on her IPad then discussing the pros and cons of choosing a stock. I’m ok with that.  Her first choice was McDonalds because that’s her favorite place to eat, but in the end she picked DIS also.  She is a sweetheart.

We also have a son, Brian, who has three children of his own. We are pretty blessed. So there you have it.  I’m not exactly comfortable with putting myself out there.  My husband and I had plans to retire when he turned 55 years old.  We were on track with our savings and our investing.  Then 2008/2009 hit like a brick wall.  In my application letter to Dr. Fly, I explained to him that in 2008/2009 I listened to all the yahoos on CNBC telling me to “stay the course”.  “Do not take your money out of the stock market”, seemed to be the underlying theme of the day.  Quarter after quarter, we saw a 28% drop in our 401K by the end of the “Great Recession”.  Like many baby boomers, it took four years before we were back to our pre 2008 totals.  Thus began my thirst for knowledge concerning the safety of our investments, and a Bear was born.

Thank you for taking the time to read my articles, I truly appreciate it. Happy hunting.

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